The Creator Wars: Counterstrike
by RisingS
Summary: As the swarms of corrupted creators continue to plague Hatena, a new creator begins his journey.  While struggling to survive in this foreign world, this seemingly powerful creator discovers his important destiny.  First Fic. XD  Rated T for language
1. Questions

Questions

_Thump thump thump_. _What's happening? Why am I so scared? What am I doing here? _

A teenage boy finds himself lying on the floor. He has shiny, black hair that is combed down his head. He has a dark skin tone and a scrawny build. His face hints at a small Asian ancestry. He seems very average, but his intellect was actually higher than most people of his world.

_I could hear two voices coming down the tunnel._

"Holy BosS! Aghh-oof!"

"Dude, you Ok?"

"Yeah… just keep going. I'll be fine."

"Hurry up then! Those minions will find us soon if we don't hurry!"

"I know! Let's go then!"

The echo of footsteps finally fades away from his hearing. Slowly his adrenaline rush fades from his system and he calms down enough to think.

_Why do I have this ominous feeling to get away from here? My heart is beating so fast that it feels like it's about to explode! Ok, wait. Slow down. Think. I am in a cave. A dark, rocky, humid cave. There's no one else here but me. I have no idea how I got here. The last thing I remember was tapping that green rectangle on my DSi._

"Pssssts. Heys kids. Comes overs heeres…"

"What the? Where are you?" he replies. He scans the area around himself again and finds two shadowy figures standing about ten feet from where he's hiding. Slowly he crawls over to them and realizes why he had the feeling to get out of there. The moment he looked up at their faces his body froze up with fear unlike anything he had ever known.

The first figure appeared to be a tall skinny man with only black lines for a body. He had no face at all, but the scary part was that he had three sharp points jutting out from the back of his head. He also had the same type of objects sticking out from his elbows and knees. He wore nothing on his body, but he didn't have anything to show. Another thing was that he had this strange aura slowly seeping out from his thin body. The second and smaller figure had less of a scary presence coming from him, but his appearance was nasty. He looked like he was overweight and his feet looked oversized for his build. His face was deformed all over the place and had random lumps across his back. He wore a dark trench coat and a backwards baseball cap.

The fat one whispers, "Wells, wells. Looks likes we'ves gots ourselves as news creators! Wes shoulds probablies takes this ones ins ehs? Ohs buts whats abouts thes twos creations that's wes lets gets aways? I'lls justs sends thes minions afters thems."

"Shut up Grotess, I'm trying to think. Why is this boy here? He never showed up on our scan of the area. This is abnormal," the stick figure says. "Never mind, I'm overthinking this. You're right. Send the minions after the two weaklings and let's bring him back to base."

_What the heck? Everything is going so fast! I've got to clear up this confusion._ "Whoa, hey I'm sorry. You've got a mistake. I'm not the uhhh—creator that you think I am. I don't even know where I am."

The being named Grotess replies, "HAS! Likes we'lls bes fooleds bys thats excuses. C'mons Hundreds, Is haves as nices stars feasts waitings backs homes."

The next thing he knows the two figures violently grab him and toss the poor boy into a square container. The walls are like those of a T.V. screen, but not as glossy. He starts banging on the walls but it doesn't appear to do anything to the box. The images outside the box soon start to blur and darken so he can't make out anything outside of my confinement.

_What's going on! What the heck is this creator thing they keep saying I am? AGH! So many questions, but zero answers so far. Looks like there's nothing I can do in this prison. I have an ugly premonition about this base the menacing looking people are taking me to. Maybe I'll at least be able to find out what this place is._

_.*.*._

After sitting in the container for what seemed like forever, the walls seemed to melt away like wax revealing the surrounding area it had been hiding. It took the prisoner a few moments to adjust to light of midday, but when his sight returned he wished he were still in the box. He quickly gets bound by cuffs by the stick figure called "Hundred". The horrific sight they now behold seems like the stereotypical evil mansion. There are what look to be witches, assassins, and evil kings walking around the entire castle. Looking around more he see stalls selling assorted items, dead trees everywhere, even a broken fountain spewing out black liquid. _Wow… These are all so predictable for an evil castle that it's annoying._

"Alright boy, get up. You're going straight to Mr. Brazil," said Hundred.

"Wells isn'ts hes specials? Hurrys ups! Is don'ts haves alls days," added Grotess.

"C'mon! Get up! You aren't that weak are you?"

"Wells actuallies Hundreds, halves as days ins as scams coulds evens wears me outs."

"Quiet fool. Just walk already. Weren't you the one who wanted to hurry up?"

With the end of that conversation they made their way through the shifting crowd and walked up to the tall, wooden doors safeguarding the castle. Then Hundred proceeded to smack his fist on three separate points of the door causing it to open. It kind of seemed like he overdid it a little because he cracks in the wood from where he pounded it. After that the door creaked open and they entered the interior of the mansion.

As we enter, Grotess splits from their group and heads down a dark corridor to the side to enter a door at the end. On first glance, the mansion was just how you would expect the interior to be. There's black wood, dark corners, dim candles, the usual. In the center is a throne, and in that throne there sits yet another mysterious figure. _Great. More questions._ There was no describing the one who sat in the throne due to his darkly colored cloak which concealed his whole appearance. There was one fact though. He had two menacing dagger sheaths alongside his hips.

"Hey Mr. Brazil, we've brought that creator that we found at point C. What do you want us t—"

"ARE YOU THE BOSS AROUND HERE?" he interrupted. Which then led to the yanking of his chain.

The person called Mr. Brazil then rose from his seat and strolled over to him, bending over to inspect the boy like he was an object that one could purchase. That's when Mr. Brazil began the interrogation. _If this was the leader of these seemingly-evil henchmen, then he/she must have some answers for me._

"So, boy… What's your name?"

**A/N: I made the change from first-person to third-person because it was getting annoying to write only his thoughts. Thanks for reading! I would really appreciate it if you would review this story.**


	2. Battle Begins

2. Battle Begins

The young prisoner sits there staring at the hooded figure trying to see through the darkness covering the person's face. The boy's temper is being tested by this so-called leader, who is unknowingly stretching it to the limit.

_I'm the one that's supposed to be asking the questions, not this guy. And what's with that name of his? I don't need any more questions. Maybe if I play along he'll tell me some useful info. _

"My name is… It's… Ummmmm…" he starts. _What's wrong with me?_

He scratches his head in confusion_. I don't even know my own name? No… It feels more like I don't have one right now. How does that even happen? Alright then, I'll just make one up!_ "Ah yes, that's right. My name is…"

"Humph. He's a new creator. He hasn't even thought of his username. Hundred, you say you found him at point C?" the leader says. He takes out a map from one of the concealed robe pockets.

"Yes sir. He was just sitting there as if he had no clue what was going on."

"That's nowhere near the closest registration point. How did he get from here…" he points to a spot on the top side of the map, then moves to the edge of the right side, "to here without going through the registration process? It seems this kid is a very special creator indeed."

The forgotten prisoner started to get angry that these villains had no useful information to give him. He tried formulating a plan to escape, but the probability of that happening was close to none. In the end he just tried to gain more info from the blabbering figures.

"Er… Excuse me but, can you just tell me WHAT THE HECK THIS CRAZY PLACE IS!" he yelled.

All the other people present just ignored him like he was the neighbor's loud dog. They didn't even think of considering his needs. "Just sit there and be quiet if you know what's good for you kid. We'll get to your problems soon enough," says Hundred, not turning to face him.

From then on the boy had no choice but to comply. He stays silent as the cloaked leader and the advisor have a conversation on what seem like movement patterns. For almost fifteen minutes the two people intensely discussed their ideas with each other until it was finally time to deal with their prisoner.

The cloaked man turns to him and says, "Alright kid it's your turn. Here's the deal. You answer our questions truthfully and we'll do the same. You wanted information right?" The boy nods his head.

"Alright, first question," said Hundred. "What is your name? Actually just give us your basic information like your username, what channel you reside in, if you have any creations, stuff like that."

_These guys don't seem as bad as what I thought they would be like. Are they really evil?_ "My uh… username is… Rysun. I'm fifteen years old. And I don't know what a channel or creation is so I don't think I have any." Hundred apparently was writing his information down as he talked. Rysun paused to think for a moment. "My turn. What is this place? Not like this place here, but this world."

Hundred looked at directly at Rysun and replied, "This world… This warring world is known to all its inhabitants as Hatena. It is a place of creators, creations, and as of this moment, war. But, that's all you get to know for now." He ended his answer with a slight smirk as the boy's face morphed into a disappointed look. The boy thought that he would get to know more about why he was here. The only thing he wanted was to go back to his life in his own world.

The more Rysun thought about it, the less he seemed to recall about his home world. He remembered his family: a mother, a father, and a little sister. He couldn't seem to remember their names though, and even their images were becoming fuzzy. He also remembered how his life was back there. It wasn't perfect, but it definitely wasn't the worst. He had an average life; he went to school, made some friends, and got buried in homework.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Rysun was asked the next question. "How did you get in that cave that we found you in? There's no way you could have gotten there without assistance."

"I don't know the answer to that question. I don't remember anything before waking up on the ground."

"I see. Mr. Brazil do you agree that there is no need for him anymore? If so, then I'm going to take him to the camps to get him acquainted with his fellow creators."

Mr. Brazil looks back and forth between Hundred and Rysun before agreeing that the questioning is over. After that, Hundred picks the prisoner up and pulls him by the chain out the door towards the camps.

_.*.*._

Traveling slowly, the pair had much time to think to themselves because the camp was apparently a whole three miles away from the castle. Rysun's mind was racing. There were so many things that he still didn't understand. A_m I really that special here? I didn't even do anything that I can remember. This is so unfair! I liked my life. I didn't want anything to change! _It was another five minutes until they heard the sirens go off.

Despite blaring horns going off in their ear-killing fashion, the pair could still hear the noises of explosions coming from the direction they came from. Turning around they saw an army of many different types of people, about a hundred of them, about to clash against the fortress that Mr. Brazil resided in. More explosions marked the beginning of the attack.

The offensive force suddenly launched a series of long ranged blasts, each looking like they could blow an entire house off the face of the world. The defenders brought up what seemed to be a dark purple shield in order to block the attack. As the blast collided with their shield a huge shockwave appeared which was felt even to Hundred and Rysun, who were almost a mile away. The defender's shield held steady and the attack was dispersed.

Seeing the threat, Hundred dropped Rysun's chain and jumped toward the battlefield. The force from his jump made a crater in the ground where he took off. Flying through the air, Hundred's adrenaline rush started to kick in. Being a veteran of the war meant that you knew all the tricks of the trade. He glanced at the enemy formation and instantly started forming his own plan. The invaders had formed a V formation, perfect for breaking through an enemy line. In the rear they had the long ranged shooters that started the initial attack. Hundred saw an opening and called upon his minions to distract the frontal force of the enemy. He smirked as he thought about how easy it was to call upon them. With the front lines occupied, Hundred would then sneak up and attack the supporting lines before pinching the formation between himself and his minions.

"These fools won't even know what hit them."

**A/N: It's time for the battle! As the sudden attack begins, what will happen to the forgotten Rysun? Thanks for reading! Please take the time to review!**


	3. Equinox

3. Equinox

_What the heck is going on? Jeeze, these people are crazy!_

Rysun sat on the ground still in minor shock from Hundred's crater-inducing leap. _That was just impossible!_ Yet with Hundred flying through the air, Rysun finally picked up on the most important result of his action. He was now free, save the chains still locked onto his wrists. Rysun started jogging towards the camp Hundred was bringing him towards to find some help. He thought if he could get the chains off and find some supplies, he would be set for finding a way out of here.

Upon arriving at the camp, Rysun realized that he had made the wrong choice. The camp was crawling with people acting like slave drivers, whipping similarly chained prisoners to get them to walk faster. It would be tough sneaking around the entire camp looking for information. The prisoners looked so mindless, as if they almost didn't mind being treated like dirt. Rysun noticed that there were still a few with emotions still intact, but they were the minority. The escapee thought to ask the supervisors, but then he realized it was stupid. His next plan involved getting to a prisoner and asking them about this world.

As the closest supervisor passes by, he sees his chance and stalks the long slave line down towards a small tent. It must have been very cramped inside in order to fit that many people. He creeps into the tent and sees that his expectations were right. There were people all over the place—on the ground, against the wall, standing up. Rysun spots one man who didn't look thoughtless. He had fading brown hair, slight wrinkles, and seemed like a wise old man, but when Rysun looked at his deep, black eyes, he sensed a mischievous essence coming from the man. There weren't any others who looked intelligent so Rysun found a small amount of courage and proceeded with his questioning.

"Hey mister," Rysun whispered, "Can you help me please?" Rysun hoped the people in the tent wouldn't give him away to the supervisors.

The man turns to Rysun and gives him a confused look. His face then starts to check Rysun out, going from top to bottom. Realization suddenly flashes on his face and he smiles. "You're trying to escape aren't you? And let me guess… You don't have any clue as to where you are right now," he says with a slight smirk.

"What! How did you know that?" Rysun asks quickly. _What's up with THIS guy? Is he psychic or something?_

"Oh, I know many, many, many things kind sir, but, my observational skill is rivaled by only a few. I will give you information on what you desire. That is what you want, correct?"

_Jeeze. People here are so weird._ "Yeah, that's right. My name's Rysun." He squeezes his way through the tent towards the man. When he reaches him Rysun starts his first question, "I already know what this place is, but where on Earth is this?"

"Hatena is not ON Earth. Earth is where people like you come from. You see, your world and Hatena are two different places in two different universes that are only liked by a digital bridge called the Connection. Apparently, around three years ago, people from Earth finally advanced enough to link with the Connection, permitting travel between the two worlds. You came through the Connection and ended up here on Hatena. Or at least that's how normal creators come here," the knowledgeable man explained.

"Oh. But how come I don't remember anything about coming here? And what are these creator and creation things you people keep mentioning?"

"Well, as much as I know about Hatena, you are probably the first case of amnesia on first travel. In other words, I don't know," the man said with a slight frown.

"On the topic of creators and creations, creators are the people that travel through the Connection from Earth. Typically, creators have to go through a registration process on their first visit where they choose their username and channel, but once again you seem to be an anomaly. Creators usually gain a special power that most inhabitants of Hatena, like me, had never thought possible. This ability was called Animation." The man stopped and looked over Rysun once again.

"Animation is the power of creation and command. A creation is the product of Animation. It can take the form of anything its creator wishes, as long as they are powerful enough to create it. Some creators are born talented and have no trouble animating small creations during their first tries, however most people must practice and practice their animations to become stronger. Using this power, creators of Hatena gradually progressed toward a brighter future. I'm probably boring you by now, aren't I?" asked the man.

"No! No! I mean, it's all really interesting, but I just want to know how to get back to Earth. Sorry," replied Rysun.

The man chuckled for a second. "It's Rysun, right? Right now there is sadly no possible way to get back." Rysun's face darkened when he heard that.

"You remember the Connection I was talking about? Well it's powered by the Rowder Jewel, which is a highly concentrated stone of the power of many creators combined. It's also activated by tapping the Hatena button on your Earth devices called DSi's. Without the Rowder Jewel, the Connection would lose power and stop allowing travel in between worlds, and unfortunately for you, it was stolen around five hours ago. I've been here for around half an hour. You see, I was there trying to protect it!" he confesses with a sarcastic smile.

Rysun looked down. _So there's no way to get back to my home? Why now? Stupid people had to steal the freaking Rowder thing and there's no other way back._

The man noticed Rysun's sad aura and tried to sympathize with him. "Don't worry kid. Hatena's best are already on the chase for it. Oh yeah, and you know those sirens going off? That's probably caused by Hatena's forces coming to save us!" cheered the man.

Rysun's mood lightened just a little. "Well if the attackers were Hatena's forces, who were the people in the fortress that were trying to defend?" asked the boy.

The man's face morphed into a mask of disgust. "Those people are called the Corrupted. They are the great evil threatening Hatena, the ones who are enslaving people like us, and they are also the people who stole the Rowder jewel," he explained.

An overflow information in one sitting can hurt, and Rysun learned that the hard way. "This is too much to comprehend. Give me a few minutes because I think my head is going to explode." Rysun snaps his eyes shut. _Why did I come here! Gah, stupid DSi! And now the key to getting home is in the hands of people like Hundred!_ He shudders, remembering how much force the stick figure had in just his jump.

All of a sudden a harsh sounding voice screams out in recognition, "THERE'S THE ESCAPEE!"

Rysun's mind suddenly goes on full alert. He glances up first at the brown-haired man, and then he turns and sees the slave driver near the entrance that spotted him. With his fight-or-flight instincts kicking in, he tears through the crowd inside the tent and rushes past the entrance only to be blocked by a group of the supervisors fully surrounding him. Fear springs through his entire body, tingling his spine all the way to the base of his brain.

The mischievously-eyed man calls out from the tent, "Hey my name's Info by the way! Don't forget!" His voice gets drowned out as the slave drivers close in on him.

The supervisors grab his chains and yank him across the camp into a bigger tent. Rysun is too much in terror to even say anything comprehensible. When they enter the tent, he sees another one of those boxes that Hundred and Grotess imprisoned him in. His eyes widen in even more fear as he recognizes the trap. As they near his soon-to-be jail cell, his mind and body react. He knows that the box will drain his strength and he is already weak to begin with. His mind screams for help, causing his body to resist against the steel grips that the supervisors had on him. He thrashes everywhere trying to break the grip and yells out pleading for help, but to no avail. They drag the boy right in front of the container, ready to throw him in, but as they start to, he snaps.

The supervisors are shocked at his sudden power gain. A small shockwave originating from within Rysun throws all the slave drivers off their feet and into the soft walls of the tent. Rysun's mind is empty; only pure emotions remain, fueling his power surge. Several seconds passed as his power appeared to become more concentrated. The supervisors picked themselves up off the floor and prepared to attack the raging creator.

The concentrated energy started shimmering and pulsing around Rysun. With the tension increasing, Rysun gave a roar of extreme rage and the energy was compacted into a small sphere of ruby red. It hovered in midair, glowing as if it was lit up by a candle. Rysun stood there with a blank look in his eyes. Everyone in the tent stared at the orb in a trance. No one expected what happened next.

The sphere suddenly shined brighter than the sun and violently exploded. The tent was blasted sky high as it was ripped to shreds. The ground quaked and dust was kicked up all around the area of effect. Shockwaves from the explosion blew other tents away as well. Most slaves stood there, unaffected by the explosion, but some frightened screams popped up from those that hadn't parted with their feelings. The supervisors were blown all over the camp, raising much alarm throughout the area.

As the dust cleared, the supervisors noticed Rysun lying on the floor and a lean stick figure with a head divided in half by black and white standing in front of him. The man had his eyes closed and stood there relaxed as if nothing was happening. The new being wore nothing, but as he opened his eyes, the same ruby red as the orb was revealed. He radiated intense amounts of raw power, enough to keep the ruthless slave drivers from making any moves.

Stepping into a long backwards stance, the figure stretched his arms out as if holding a shaft. Glowing, red energy shined between his hands and produced a deadly looking weapon. It was a scythe with a jet black shaft. The long rod ended with intricate layers of spikes, each one displaying a sense of terrifying beauty. Near the spikes was the start of the shiny, ruby red blade of the weapon. The wicked blade that curved out from the pole was almost as tall as the figure himself. The menacing blade struck deep fear into those surrounding the man, and one supervisor ran away in sheer terror.

Nothing moved in the field except the falling dust. When everything settled down, the stick man made his introduction. "I am Equinox, creation of Rysun. Prepare for your demise."

**A/N: Whew! That a very entertaining chapter to write. Sorry if I bored you with Info's explanations on Hatena basics, but Rysun deserved some answers! And sorry for not doing the siege battle this chapter, but it's-a-comin'! Thanks for reading! Please take the time to review.**


	4. The Mighty TadPol

**A/N: Disclaimer? Technically the characters in this story are their own creators property, but I've been making the personalities up for them… But whatever. On with the story!**

4. The Mighty TadPol

_Back in midair with Hundred…_

Hundred was still flying through the air playing out the scenarios of the battle that could happen. In the best-case, Hundred's pincer plan would be executed perfectly and the attacking forces would be severely wounded, if not completely obliterated. Worst-case would be if his minions get destroyed and he would get surrounded. Weighing the pros and cons of his strategy, he seemed content with his tactics. Finished with his mental plotting, Hundred changed his direction towards the back end of the enemy force by using extreme pressure on the surrounding air.

_Down on the frontlines of the Hatenian forces…_

The battle was intense. The warriors on the frontline were having trouble defending against the deadly magic spells of the Corrupted mages. The mages were using powerful beam blasts that streaked through the air, keeping the attackers from coming within 100 yards of the fortress walls. The V-formation held steady through the blasts, but next they received an unwelcome surprise.

Hundreds and hundreds of black-headed stickmen shot out from the tops of the walls, pouring into the battlefield, and rushing head on into the Hatenian force. The attackers' morale plummeted after seeing the stickmen. It seemed they knew what they were going up against and dreaded their encounter. The defending mages relaxed their spells, leaving the army to take care to the siege.

"For Hatena! 88th Siege Battalion Charge! RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" the attackers yelled.

Without any battle cry, the minions continued their charge and finally clashed with the attackers. Armor from warriors flew across the formation. Gauntlets, helmets, and shields were stripped from the attackers as they struggled to repel the endless army of stickmen. With the fierce battle raging no one noticed the lone figure hurdling through the air towards the rear, except for one.

"Captain TadPol! What's wrong?" a warrior shouted. In the middle of the formation the warrior noticed his commander's hesitation.

The warrior looked at a dark, blue, bulky stick man with concern. The blue stick figure had only a captain's band tied to his arm. He glanced at the warrior. "It's nothing. Hi5, where are you!" the Captain yelled. He hoped his lieutenant could hear him over all the noises of war.

A stickman jumped from a skirmish with a minion and landed next to TadPol. He was covered in a golden, Asian-style armor set that was dented from attacks. He looked a little fatigued from the battle, but not by much. "Yeah Tad? What'd you need?" Hi5 asked.

"I need you and Sergeant Riname to take over command of the siege. I sense a corrupted presence stealthily entering the battle. I'm going to investigate alone. You'll need everyone in order to defeat the Corrupted. Change into Beetle formation and surround the minions. Hopefully that will be enough to hold them off," the captain ended. He looked at his sergeant with worried eyes and dismissed him. He hoped that it wouldn't be the last time to see Hi5. His Lieutenant was a gifted creator; he would go far during his career. After Hi5 went to relay the message to the sergeant, TadPol ran to the center flank alone, to deal with the problem. _I really hope it's not Reo or Xero. Please don't let it be one of them._

TadPol slowed down to a jog and finally stopped, waiting for the presence to reemerge. All of a sudden a black blur falls from the sky and crashes into the ground. The whole war stops for a moment to check out what crashed, but continues when they remember their enemy. Dust rises around the crash site, blocking all vision. The sounds of clashing weapons were drowned out as TadPol focused on the dust, trying to see through it. _Alright, whoever's out there. Show yourself!_

All of a sudden dark bubbles of energy appear out of thin air. They hover for a couple of seconds before they quickly gather inside of the dust cloud. A dim light appears in the center, as the light gets refracted through the dust.

"Uh-oh." TadPol barely had any time to react. He started to raise his arms to block the incoming attack, but he only got them half way before it was released. A dark beam as big a school bus shot out of the dust like a cannon, creating intense pressure on the ground. The dust was scattered at the firing point leaving a hole in the cloud. The beam shot towards TadPol without signs of stopping.

The captain's arms were unprepared for the impact they received. "AHHHHHGH!" yelled TadPol. The impact felt like being hit by a boulder flying at 100 miles per hour. He slid across the dusty earth, but remained in his blocking stance. Taking the full force of the blow took much of his strength to hold down. As they were locked in a stalemate, high air pressure flew from the battle of strength. The ground trembled slightly as the stick man slid back little by little. The black beam struggled to advance forward, but it was no match for TadPol's strength. Losing energy, the beam dissipated back into the air and released the stick figure from his struggle. The dust cloud finally fell enough to see through when TadPol raised his head.

_Ah, great. It's him._

The beam's creator stood there in his firing position, expecting a pile of ashes where TadPol stood. His eyes narrowed, trying to judge his opponent. "I see I'm not facing an amateur. I really, really hope you can keep up," Hundred says with an arrogant voice.

"So my opponent is the infamous Hundred, the once great stick fighter of the Japan region. I'm sincerely honored to do battle with you," TadPol said while nodding in respect.

Hundred smirked a little at his comments. "The pleasure is all mine, Captain TadPol. I've heard of you and your victories with the 88th, and believe me when I say, 'You stand no chance.' But enough talk, more fighting!" He launched towards him at breakneck speeds, leaving cracks in the earth.

The battle between the commanders of the two clashing sides began. Hundred took the first strike by launching a heavy punch with his right hand into TadPol's guard. TadPol slid a couple of yards before springing back into the battle with a front flip. He lands and quickly sweeps at Hundred's feet, trying to get him off balance.

Hundred stumbled back to dodge and was met with a side kick to the face. Hundred flinched for a millisecond and suddenly his opponent was launching cycles of punches at his mid-section. Each punch had tremendous force behind them. Hundred stumbled back, stunned by the combination that TadPol had just displayed. Hundred was still in a daze when he looked up and saw the captain take a small step backwards before yelling, "Falcon… _**PUNCH!**_" His fist blazed with a bright fire that took the shape of a falcon. It connected with Hundred's face, launching him like a rocket across the ground. He skimmed off the earth as he touched down and finally slowed to a stop. He slowly stood up from his dirt nap and glared at TadPol, who had a smile on his face. _I underestimated him. Let's try long-ranged combat._ Hundred jumped backwards while charging smaller beams of darkness in both of his hands. Once they were ready, he flung them at his opponent.

TadPol reacted to the attack by simply dodging to the right, but when the spheres changed direction towards him again, he realized they were homing projectiles. He ran as fast as he could away from the dark orbs, narrowly being missed by the attacks over and over again. He jumped off a rock, while doing two whole backflips, in order to crash them against the stone, but they stopped before smashing into the rock and went in reverse. TadPol noticed Hundred charging two more of the dark energy blasts. _Oh BosS, please help me._

Hundred launched his two extra blasts as TadPol ran by him. Hundred smiled cruelly at him. "Not even I can escape these. Your battle is over," he told his opponent.

TadPol had to come up with something fast, lest he be destroyed by those dark energy spheres. His luck was getting worse as the orbs came closer and closer to striking their target. He twisted and turned, his limbs flailing from the rapid movement. TadPol was still thinking and made a dodge in midair when he found an idea.

"I haven't used this for a while, but now is a good time to try! Animation: Speed Seven!" he yelled. He landed on the ground and all of a sudden, TadPol disappeared with a blur. The trailing orbs of darkness started moving up towards the sky.

"What? He knows how to use Speed Seven?" Hundred exclaimed. The evil creator looked up to see if he could spot his opponent using the homing blasts as a guide, but instead he found his blasts falling down towards his position.

"You might want to dodge those."

Hundred's eyes widened as he heard Tadpol's voice over his shoulder. He pivoted on his heel hoping to sock him in the face, but he was already gone and the blasts were still incoming.

Hundred looked down. He frowned in disappointment of himself. He spoke to himself softly, "It seems you have won this round Captain. I'll be looking forward to our next encounter."

As he finished his sentence, the confused homing blasts rained down on their creator, causing a humongous explosion. The minions still fighting with the Hatenian forces abruptly faded away from existence. Many stopped, confused with what happened, but a victory cheer soon arose from the entire battalion that even reached the defenses of the evil fortress.

The victor slowed from his technique and watched as his opponent appeared to be destroyed. TadPol turned around to rejoin with his comrades after the explosion calmed down_. I can't believe I did it! Thank goodness I still know how to use Speed Seven. Hundred probably escaped, but he won't be fighting for a while. Ok, now to finish taking the fortress._ The commander of the victorious forces stepped up to the front of his warriors. He was proud of them all for holding off the greatly outnumbered enemy. He addressed them all, "Soldiers of the 88th Siege Brigade, we must finish our mission. Attack the fortress with all your might! **Charge!**"

**A/N: Here's the siege battle that I promised! It's my first battle scene that I've ever written, so I hope you liked it! I think it turned out rather well, but I want to hear YOUR opinions so please take the time to review! Next chapter will be back with Rysun and Equinox and how they deal with their situation. Oh and btw, how do you make the line breaks on FF?**


	5. Rescue

**A/N: Wow guys I am so sorry for not updating this in forever! Just to try and make it up to you guys, I made this chapter nice and loooong. And enough talk, more of the story!**

5. Rescue

A teenage girl was running across a makeshift campsite in the middle of the evil fortress. It looked like she had a small sense of urgency in her step. The white cloak that she had on over her red and black leather armor was being soiled by the dirt and dust of the earth. She entered a large tent and turned to face her superior officer. "Sergeant Riname, reporting in!"

"Ah good, Riname. I thought I would see you soon. So how are our capture teams doing? They should be done by now," said Captain TadPol with a smile. He looked at his sergeant. He was very fond of this skinny, amber-eyed, young woman with long, straight, brown hair. Her Japanese face was cute, her build was average, and she had a very outgoing attitude. She was only fifteen years old, but he loved her like a father to a daughter, even though he was still only twenty one.

"Tad. There's trouble down at the slave camp. The team that was assigned to that area isn't responding," she explained.

"Huh? What happened?"

"I've sent a small group of scouts to get a look on the place, but they have yet to return."

"Well then we'll just have to wait. I'll give them a half hour to return. If by then they are not sighted, then I'll have to put precautionary plans into action. That's okay, right Ri?"

"You're the boss Tad, you make the decisions. And stop calling me Ri!" the sergeant complained, "It's embarrassing!"

TadPol chuckled. "Of course, of course. Now report back in when you see our scouts."

"Yeah, yeah."

_Thirty minutes later…_

Riname walked back into the tent. "Tad, they haven't come back yet."

"That's not good." The Captain was anxious. _Crap! How did a whole capture team and a group of scouts be missing?_ "Ok, our mission is to recuse the lost soldiers and find out the cause of this event. Gather Squad M. We'll need their scanning spells to guide us away from whatever's over there. Of course, you'll be coming with us, so tell Hi5 he's in charge. Meet up at the edge of the camp towards the target."

"Right!" She dashed out of the entrance to complete her tasks.

TadPol was left to contemplate about the upcoming mission. _What could've taken down that many soldiers? Not even one escaped?_ TadPol started to gather his things. He picked up his lucky Captain's armband, so he could be distinguished from other stick figures, and his stylus, for he was almost powerless without it. Taking one last look around to see if he needed anything, he decided to move out. He started walking towards the rendezvous point, greeting his fellow soldiers on the way.

He waited for a couple of minutes before the rest of his team arrived. Squad M was a team of around thirty mages that were assigned to his battalion. They usually only used battle magic, but most knew tracking and restraining spells as well. "Everyone knows what happened and what we're going to do, right?" asked TadPol.

Riname, in front of the group, nodded. "I already explained it to them, now let's go!"

After she said that, the mission began and the group sprinted towards the slave camp.

* * *

><p>"Everyone, guards up! We don't know what's in there," said TadPol. The camp was big, but it was far enough away from the fortress that any reinforcements would have difficulty getting there in time. It took the entire group just over twenty minutes to run the three miles, but a battle could be over in that time. They stealthily made their way to the edge of the camp, but the silence was eerie.<p>

"Something's wrong," stated Riname. She looked around. "Where are our men? Hey, some of you guys try scanning the area. Tell us if you find anything." Some mages broke off from the group to start a reconnaissance spell. Once completed, they returned to the group and explained that all the prisoners were on the far side of the camp. There was also something blocking their vision in the main tent.

"I can only hope they're still alright," answers TadPol.

Minutes later, after making their way carefully through the camp, they arrive at the center, in front of a large, circus-sized tent that is emitting a ruby red shine.

"This is it guys. Whatever is in here is the problem!" exclaimed Riname.

"Let's go!" says TadPol, and they barge in through the entrance. The inside was cluttered with junk, but the first thing they saw was the initial capture team trapped inside of a 15-foot tall, translucent box. The prisoners looked unconscious and seemed like they were becoming weaker by the minute.

"What? They're trapped in a scam! Help them out of there now, before they become Corrupted!" commanded Riname.

The experienced mages started to mobilize and soon found the entrance. The screen flipped open as they released the lock. They all had anxious expressions on their faces as they rescued their comrades. As the prisoners were set free they drowsily woke up. They weren't ready for battle yet, so the rescue team brought them back outside the tent.

"Serg—Sergeant… Urgh… Wait," coughed one of the prisoners.

Riname heard his call and made her way over to his coarse voice. "Yes soldier?" she replied.

"Do—Don't go back in there! It's too powerful! We didn't stand a chance!" he warned.

_It. Which means __**one**__ thing? One thing powerful enough to defeat two squads?_

"Do you have enough strength to tell me what happened?" asked Riname.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

><p><em>We arrived at the camp, twenty men strong and ready for battle. We moved closer and closer, sticking together, but found no resistance. Checking the tents, we found the slaves. Most were just normal inhabitants, but we found some creators mixed in. There was this one man with brown hair. He said he was the famous Info from the Practice Channel, but I didn't believe him. Anyways, he said that all the Corrupted had rushed towards the main tent as if there was a free purple star. When our team heard this we geared up, sent the prisoners to the far side of the camp, and made our way to the center. We got there and it looked like a bomb had gone off. The tent had many tears in its fabric, and was glowing red. Our leader sensed something bad and told everyone to keep our guards up.<em>

_We entered the tent expecting to find the Corrupted, but instead we found a lone stick figure with a black and white head holding a black and red scythe. Power flowed off of his body like it yearned to be released. He was standing in front of a bed with an unconscious kid as if he were watching him. We could only stand there in shock as the man turned to face us. We looked up only to find ruby colored eyes staring back at us. We immediately averted our eyes in fear and realized all the unconscious bodies of the Corrupted that littered the floor._

_Then we heard the voice of the lone man, "Drop your weapons, that is, if you value your safety."_

_Our group looked at each other unsure of what to do. I was pretty skeptical about what one could do with a farming tool, but his intimidation was VERY effective. A few moments later our leader replied, "You first."_

_The stick figure was silent for a moment until the scythe began to dissipate into red particles. When the scythe disappeared our leader said, "Good. Ok, now put your hands up and slowly walk over to us."_

_The ruby-eyed man put his hands up until all of a sudden he burst forward, punching the leader square in the face, knocking him back into the leather of the tent. He crumpled down onto the ground as he fell. I was still staring at the leader when two more of our group flew backwards._

_The rest of the group's battle sense kicked in and aimed for the stick figure. Two of our swordsmen double teamed him in a frontal slash, but he dodged in between them while back fisting both of them in the head. Two more down. Our second in command signaled for us to surround him and we hurriedly followed the order. The target let us surround him like he was in no danger._

_A soldier wielding a halberd took the initiative and launched a heavy overhead strike. Whoosh! He danced to the side with a little skip as the halberd crashed into the ground. The soldier went to meet the ruby eyed man fist to fist, but he was taken out with a sidekick the moment he let go of his weapon._

_A soldier flanked him, charging with a sword and shield. He tried a horizontal slash this time, but the enemy hopped up in the air. The soldier put up his shield to block his attack, but the stickman jumped off of him like a spring board. He landed softly and did a low sweep on the shield soldier's legs. He fell to the ground as the enemy twisted back up and did an axe kick into his side. Not waiting for the next attack, he proceeded to lunge at our circle. He did another power punch with his right, this time into the armor of the soldier. The metal dented inwards as he fell to the floor._

_All of our attacks were futile as he continued to dodge and counter. Our group of twenty was now cut in half to only ten people. I was still frozen in fear. Seconds later another one of us fell. It continued for only a minute longer. Three people were left including me, our second in command, and one other._

_He charged at the other soldier and did a right feint. The soldier put up his shield to block, but he didn't see the back leg hook kick coming in from the left. His head snapped down as he fell to the floor, but his body fell forward into the still recovering enemy. His ruby eyes widened slightly as he was forced off balance in order to dodge the body. This was my chance. I rushed forward, gripping my two-handed sword tightly and made a broad, horizontal sweep using all of my strength._

_His ruby eyes quickly glanced at me. Suddenly he jerked his arm towards my sword as if to catch it. There was no way he could have blocked this much power. I continued my swing, but the moment it reached his hand there was a deafening sound. The sword vibrated as it rebounded off his hand. No way! There was no blocking that! I shifted my eyes toward his hand when I realized that it was glowing red. I quickly put two and two together and understood that he had blocked my strike by firing a small burst of energy out of his palm._

_My sword bounced back bringing my arms with it. He then slid his hand onto my chest. I braced for impact and BAM! I flew back after being hit by the same red energy. I slid on the ground and turned over and over until I smacked my face into something hard. That's when I lost consciousness._

* * *

><p>Upon finishing his story, the soldier looked to the girl for her reaction. She had a stern expression on her face and got up. "So what you're saying is that one lone stick figure took out twenty men in only minutes?" she asked.<p>

"Pretty much."

"Just one?"

"Yup."

"…"

She paused for a moment before she thanked the soldier for his information. She hurried back over to TadPol who was still helping out to treat the wounds on the prisoners.

"Tad. Tad! One of the soldiers told me what happened!" she exclaimed. She then summarized the soldier's story and relayed it to him.

"I see. But we still have no choice. Our recon team is still missing. We can't just leave them behind. We're going to try and avoid a battle if we can. I guess we'll just have to try and talk it out," he said. _But that has a very low chance of success…_

"Anyways, let's hurry up and finish treating the wounded so we can confront this guy and get our team back," commanded TadPol.

* * *

><p>When the task was completed, TadPol signaled for the rescue team to continue investigating. Riname led the way as they returned to the glowing tent. She carefully tiptoed through the entrance flaps back to where they found the scam.<p>

They slowly sneaked around the trap using the ominous red light to see and made their way through a pile of junk. Seconds later they climbed over a table and entered into the center of the tent. The only thing they saw was a small bed with an unconscious teenage boy lying on it. "What the? A creator? This isn't the guy that soldier was talking about! And our recon team isn't in sight! Tad, what do we do?" Riname asked from the front.

TadPol looked over the boy and replied, "Well it doesn't seem like he's a Corrupted." He pointed at two mages and said, "You two go get him off that bed and back outside with the others. I'll watch your back and Ri, you watch mine, Ok? Everybody else stay on alert."

Riname looked like she was annoyed, but the atmosphere was too tense to complain. "Got it," answered the group.

The two mages in the plan were ready to begin. One took the front while the one in the rear took out his stylus. He pointed in the air and closed his eyes to concentrate. Moments later the silhouette of a stretcher appeared. More moments passed and the stretcher materialized. It fell into the creator's hands as he finished putting his stylus away. They got up and started to move towards the boy. The captain followed behind, who was then followed by a cautious sergeant. The boy was only thirty feet away so it wouldn't take long to get there, but as they reached halfway the red light that had lit up the tent suddenly became intensely bright. The team stopped to cover their eyes. A few seconds later the light dimmed down and the tent returned its normal, non-red lighting. The team was about to continue until… _WHAM!_

Something dropped in front of them causing the dirt to rise. The same moment, a wave of fear flew through the air as if it were a shockwave. TadPol and Riname sensed it as they cringed for a second before returning to their usual battle mode. However, the two mages in front panicked loudly before being controlled by TadPol. He guided them to stay behind Riname as the dirt finally settled, revealing the half-white, half-black head of the man from the soldier's story.

The figure stood up keeping his eyes closed and raised his hand in front of him. "Halt. What are you doing here?" the voice asked with a menacing tone.

TadPol, now in the lead, replied, "We only came to rescue our own people. We don't want to get into any unnecessary conflicts."

He opens his eyes to show the ruby aura within them and says, "I see. That's a shame. You and the young woman behind you look like quite a challenge," the figure gestures to Riname. "Well then, let me introduce myself calmly. I am Equinox, creation of Rysun. Are you sure you don't want to fight?" he asks.

TadPol nods his head. _I've never heard of and creator named Rysun before. How could he have made such a powerful creation without being noticed?_ The captain then looks back at the sleeping boy in the center. _It can't be him… right?_

"I see. That's a shame! Well, I guess you must be looking for these guys," Equinox says as he walks over to an overturned bedframe. He kicks it aside revealing the recon team tied together and unconscious.

"They were stubborn, just like the other groups. I must say, they weren't much of a challenge for me. Ah, but that's the past. Please take them as you wish. But make sure they get some better training next time!" Equinox says with a small smile.

"Thank you, but I must ask you for one last thing," says TadPol.

Hearing this, Riname nudges her captain quickly and whispers, "What now? We got our team, now let's get out of here! Don't you remember the story?"

He silences her by putting up his hand. Using the same hand, he points towards the boy in the bed and continues with his request. "I ask you to let us question the boy on the bed over there."

"No."

"…Why not?"

The red-eyed stick figure did not answer again. Instead he narrowed his eyes and slid into a long battle stance. He stuck out both of his hands and red particles gathered, forming the shape of a scythe in between.

"Great! Now look what you did!" complained Riname.

TadPol was unaffected by her words. He looked at his sergeant with a serious expression. "I just have a hunch. I need you to wake that boy on the bed up. You hear me? It's important. The rest of us will engage battle with Equinox."

"But you'll get owned!"

"Not if you wake that boy up! I think…"

"Gah! Whatever. Just don't lose too quickly," says Riname.

The black scythe had finished appearing in Equinox's hands. He pointed it towards TadPol as he got ready to strike. The rest of Group M, excluding Riname, tensed up as they watched their new enemy. A few seconds of silence passed.

Woosh! Equinox lunged at the captain going for a powerful overhead strike. TadPol stepped forward to block the same time that Riname started to sprint towards the boy on the bed. Almost all the mages had begun their counter attacks. Time seemed to slow down for everyone in the tent. Riname was only able to take a couple of steps before Equinox's scythe reached TadPol's head.

But the attack never connected.

The scythe suddenly dissipated back into red light. Equinox stumbled forward to the side of the still waiting TadPol and did a quick forward roll. The red-eyed stickman stood up after recovering, as Riname reached the bed and TadPol realized what happened.

All eyes looked to Equinox as his body started to dissipate into red light like his scythe starting from his feet. Everyone is still stuck in awe as his body is almost gone. The red particles float in the air, waiting for the diffusion to complete. Only his neck and above remain as he turns his head towards the boy and whispers, "Good morning, Rysun."

With those words, Equinox's body had completely separated into countless floating, red particles. 'Wooohhhhhh…' was what was going through everyone's minds.

The red particles looked like the stars in the night sky as they twinkled and hovered throughout the room. At the same time, all the particles zoomed towards Riname and the boy. The sergeant was startled and took a dive to the floor. The red lights gathered quickly above the boy and finally became a concentrated mass in the form of a red orb. The orb hovered for several moments before dropping through the boy's chest.

All was silent until the boy jolted out of bed, eyes wide with a frightened expression. "NO! NOT IN THERE!" he screamed.

He stayed frightened until he realized his surroundings and everyone staring at him. TadPol was the first to say something. "Hey kid. Calm down. We're only here to help. I'm guessing you're called Rysun, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Who are you?"

"Captain TadPol, commanding officer of the 88th Siege Brigade, at your service. C'mon kid. I'll tell you what happened," the dark blue stick figure said with a smile. He extended his hand out to the unsure teenager.

"Uh… Sure," he replied as he took TadPol's hand.

**A/N: OHMAIGAWSH. This is the longest chapter I've done so far. I think it's like three times the length of the first chapter. I guess it's mostly due to the flashback, and also because I didn't know where to end it. I was going to end it just as Rysun woke up, but then I was like 'Nahhh I'll continue.' Anyways, I hope you liked it! Please take the time to review! :D**


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